Page 104 of That Kind of Guy

The group of us left the restaurant, where people were still dancing and laughing, and walked down to the beach. Our shoes were left in a pile at the edge of the sidewalk, where the sand began. The moon was high in the sky and cast a glow over everything, and the lights from the restaurant illuminated our way. Avery pulled the skirt of her dress up so that it wouldn’t get dirty and walked to the edge of the shore. I walked alongside her with the cuffs of my pants rolled up so they wouldn’t get wet.

“This was so easy,” she told me. Her voice was low enough that the others couldn’t hear us. Finn was splashing Hannah and Miri with water, and they were laughing and running away. Holden sat on a log while Will and Nat held hands beside him. Wyatt was stripping down to his boxers. He dumped his clothes beside Holden and ran into the water before diving under.

I put my arm around Avery’s shoulder. “It sure was. The easiest wedding I’ve ever had. I’m a genius.”

She grinned. “The most modest, humble genius I know.”

We walked up and down the beach as the waves lapped against our feet. The laughter from Finn, Hannah, and Miri followed us and the soft rumble of the waves rose up around us. Tonight was one of the best nights of my life. I couldn’t wait to tell her how I felt, but it wasn’t time yet.

I pictured telling her that my vows were the truth, that I loved her and wanted to be with her, and that I didn’t want it to be fake anymore. Everything she had shown me in the past few weeks told me she would be receptive. But what if she wasn’t? What if she freaked out?

What if it was still fake to her?

I pictured us parting ways and going back to our regular lives. I couldn’t even remember what my regular life was like, only weeks ago. What did I even do? What did I think about, being mayor? My business? Those things seemed so dull in comparison to thinking about Avery. One more week with her didn’t seem like enough. Ten weeks didn’t seem like enough. I wanted forever.

“Are you still good with our deal?” I asked her, glancing down and meeting her gaze as she looked up at me.

She hesitated, eyes narrowing slightly, and she bit her lip before nodding.

Well. There it was. Disappointment flickered throughout me, punctuated with something else. Pain, maybe, but I brushed it away too quickly to identify it. Moping wouldn’t do any good. I was Emmett Rhodes, I didn’t mope about things I couldn’t control.

I blinked to myself. I was EmmettgoddamnRhodes. For one, I was a fucking genius for cooking up this plan and somehow having the best damn day of my life with an incredibly gorgeous, funny, smart woman. I did that. So, who’s to say I couldn’t convince the said incredibly gorgeous, funny, smart woman that maybe we could do this thing a little longer? Why did it have to end after a week? We made that deal when we didn’t even know each other. She couldn’t stand me a month ago. This was different. She actually liked me now. Shereallyliked me, if the way she responded when I touched her or kissed her was any indication.

My mouth hitched, and I felt a surge of competition. With who? No idea. With myself, I guess, or with Avery’s hesitation for us to be more.

I was going to make Avery fall for me as hard as I was falling for her.

The poor woman wouldn’t know what hit her.

I flashed her my most charming smile, at which she narrowed her eyes.

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing. You look gorgeous, has anyone ever told you that?”

She raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on with you? You’re scheming.”

“Me? Scheming? You’re crazy, Adams.” I sighed and pulled her close to me. The rest of our group now sat on the log, chatting, except for Wyatt, who was still swimming in the ocean while Holden watched on. If it was anyone else, I’d be more watchful and concerned, but Wyatt was a strong swimmer, and there was no keeping him out of the water. We had tried and failed many times.

“Come on, let’s go,” I said to her, looking down at her.

She met my gaze, and something passed between us. She shivered under my arm.

“Are you cold?”

She shook her head. “Let’s go.”

We were checking into the hotel when I realized I forgot to grab the marriage certificate out of the car. As soon as we had our room key, I turned to Avery. “I forgot something in the car, just give me one second.”

She nodded. “I’m going to go up to the room.”

“Sure.” I gave her a quick kiss and headed outside.

I searched that car like I was a detective looking for clues in a murder investigation. I looked in the glove box, under all the seats, the truck, behind the visors, everywhere.

The marriage certificate wasn’t in there. I blew a breath out and pulled out my phone to text Wyatt. He probably forgot to put it in the car. Maybe it was in one of my bags upstairs. I typed out the question to him and sent it.

When I opened the door of our hotel room, Avery stood in the dim lighting, wearing only a white lace bra and thong. The delicate lace fit her soft curves perfectly and her gentle cleavage was visible in the low light. My hands clenched at my sides, eager to touch her smooth skin, to feel her and pull her to me. My heart began to beat harder as she bit her lip. She gave me a quick wink.

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